WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Auburn senior Will Nolan won his respective singles flight at the Wake Forest Fall Invite over the weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Nolan won each of his four matches to claim the flight title.
"It was a great weekend of tennis," Auburn head coach Bobby Reynolds said on Sunday. "We got challenged by teams and players we don’t frequently see which allows our guys to grow. It was capped off with a tournament win for Will Nolan, who has been playing some of his best tennis this fall. His hard work and dedication is paying off, and his confidence is growing with two weeks left before the NCAA Doubles Championship."
Nolan started his run with a three-set win over Keegan Rice of Virginia on Friday. A couple of straight-set victories over Wake Forest’s Cornelius Shalmi and Duke’s Remi Dugardin on Saturday then punched his ticket to the flight’s finals against Lucas Andrade da Silva of South Carolina. In Sunday’s final match, Nolan dropped the opening set before bouncing back to win the next two for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. With the four victories, Nolan now has a 7-3 singles record this fall.
In doubles, Jake Kennedy and Nicholas Heng bounced back after a loss in a tiebreaker to No. 21 Connor Thompson and Casey Hoole of South Carolina to start the tournament with two wins on Friday and Saturday. Thomas Kennedy and Joey Phillips also claimed two doubles wins including a 6-4 win over Remi Dugardin and Teddy Truwit of Duke on Saturday.
In addition to Nolan’s wins, Jake Kennedy won three singles matches over Luke Thomson of UNCG, Peter Glenn of Charleston and Lucas Bitzer of Tennessee Tech. Phillips, Heng and Thomas Kennedy also recorded one singles victory each during the tournament.
Up next, Auburn’s Billy Blaydes and Alex Frusina will each play for a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship in the ITA South Sectional Championship. That tournament will be held Nov. 7-10 at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
Friday Results:
#21 Connor Thompson/Casey Hoole (SCAR) def. Jake Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) 7-6 (5)
Thomas Kennedy/Joey Phillips (AUB) def. Esteve Agusti/Aurelin Schmitt (JMU) 7-6 (4)
Jake Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Matthew Mitchell/Pol Del Castillo (GSU) 7-5
Wissam Abderrahamn/Matt Pitts (CLEM) def. Thomas Kennedy/Joey Phillips (AUB) 6-1
Joey Phillips (AUB) def. Max Stenzer (SCAR) 6-4, 6-2
Will Nolan (AUB) def. Keegan Rice (UVA) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
Jake Kennedy (AUB) def. Luke Thomson (UNCG) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Martin Mazev (WAKE) def. Thomas Kennedy (AUB) 6-0, 6-2
Remi Dugardin (DUKE) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Saturday Results:
Jake Kennedy/Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Ivan Dreycopp/Arsene Pougault (CHAR) 6-4
Thomas Kennedy/Joey Phillips (AUB) def. Remi Dugardin/Teddy Truwit (DUKE) 6-4
Will Nolan (AUB) def. Cornelius Shalmi (WAKE) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Aaron Williams (GSU) def. Joey Phillips (AUB) 7-6 (4), 6-2
Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. Stewart Aronson (CLEM) 6-1, 6-4
Thomas Kennedy (AUB) def. Alex Alvarez (TTECH) 6-2, 6-1
Will Nolan (AUB) def. Remi Dugardin (DUKE) 6-2, 6-2
Keegan Rice (UVA) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Jake Kennedy (AUB) def. Peter Glenn (CHAR) 6-3, 6-2
Marlo Mesarovic (CLEM) def. Thomas Kennedy (AUB) 7-5, 6-2
Jacob Smith def. Jake Kennedy (AUB) 6-2, 6-2
Teddy Truwit (DUKE) def. Joey Phillips 6-1, 7-6 (1)
Sunday Results:
Will Nolan (AUB) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (SCAR) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Romain Gales (CLEM) def. Nicholas Heng (AUB) 6-2, 6-4
Connor Krug (DUKE) def. Thomas Kennedy (AUB) 7-5, 6-2
Jake Kennedy (AUB) def. Alex Suk (GSU) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)
Velijko Krstic (ELON) def. Joey Phillips 6-3, 7-5